The invention relates to provision of data for transmission and/or storage, and to the transmission and storage of data, and, more particularly, to data coding for transmission and/or storage, and decoding of received and/or accessed or retrieved coded data. (“Retrieving” shall refer to retrieving and/or accessing unless the context indicates otherwise.) The invention also relates to the supply of coded data over a network to recipient computer systems that receive the coded data, decode it and use, store or distribute it.
Electronic data, or information, can be provided to recipient computer systems over a network in a number of conventional ways, e.g., using “pull” and “push” type systems. In a pull type system, users request or “pull” information from a remote computer or database or databases over a network, e.g., from a remote server that retrieves the requested information and supplies it to the requesting user over the network.
In a push type system, a computer system typically maintains address information for recipients and subscription, interests or profile or similar information relating to the information that each recipient should receive (e.g., pursuant to a subscription) or desires to receive (e.g., pursuant to interests or other information provided by or collected relating to a recipient). The computer system supplies recipients with relevant information by sending the information to the recipient's address.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,798 describes a communication interface for decoupling one software application from another software application, e.g., between data consumer applications and data provider services.